Local Teen Lands Gig As NFL Replacement Referee

(CARLISLE) – Patrick Langston, 16, is among the latest batch of replacement referees to be hired by the National Football League. Langston, who lives with his parents in Carlisle, said he was surprised to receive the call this week from the NFL, especially since he neither follows football nor knows much about the rules of the sport.

“Just for the heck of it, I filled out an online application just over a week ago, ” Langston said. “Then yesterday, I got a phone call with a prerecorded message from [NFL Commissioner] Roger Goodell informing me that my name had been drawn in a lottery.”

Langston, who currently works part-time as an expo chef at a Bob Evans restaurant on the Carlisle Pike, will take to the field for the first time on October 7 when the Steelers play the Eagles. “That’s great, because it gives me a couple weeks to learn the rules of the game,” he said. Langston will be the game’s lead official.

“I just hope the real refs don’t get a contract before then,” Langston said. “That would really suck for me.”

Langston said he was “totally stoked” to get the phone call. “Once my dad told me who Roger Goodell is, I got really excited,” he said. “I might even get to take a day off of school, and that’s great since I have a book report due on October 8. Those are such a drag.”

The teen said he is already practicing key moves. “My dad wrapped a few quarters up in one corner of a handkerchief, and I’ve been throwing it around the yard as if it’s a penalty flag,” Langston said. “Oh what fun!”